I was at John's for 3 years from 2007-2009 on a Sports Scholarship with Rowing.  Since then, I have had surgery, travelled the world, found myself stranded in China and now own and run a multimillion-dollar eCommerce business.

My whole life was Sydney Uni.  I rowed with Sydney Uni Boat Club, worked at the Uni’s The Arena gym, and studied B. Arts & Science (a running joke as the “EAP degree” – the Elite Athlete Program – the course with minimal facing hours and easy pass rates so that we could get on with the sports stuff).

The year after finishing College I had hip surgery, which sealed the end of my rowing and meant the end to my goal of an Olympic Games medal.  Sport is a funny one – you are surrounded by very goal-driven people, who sacrifice so much in the hopes of achieving the near-impossible – Olympic Gold.  You live in a bubble, a side effect being 90%+ of us were socially inept.  I have John’s to thank for helping me balance that side of me - exposing me to a variety of personalities!!…with wholesome and balanced life goals, something I still haven’t achieved.  Because once the sport ends, it’s sudden.  You enter the ‘real world’ with ‘real people’ and it’s quite an adjustment.  You need to replace your obsession with another, or it leaves a gaping hole.

After my surgery, I felt I hadn’t achieved much and was restless.  I’d travelled the world a few times as an athlete, but never had ‘the tourist experience’.  So, I saved up, put Uni on hold and headed to Africa by myself for 3 months and travelled through 10 countries.  I volunteered for 4 weeks, backpacked for 2, and camped for 6.

Travel is something that you can't quite understand until you experience it yourself, and Africa, for me, was that moment.  I’ll never be able to express just how great it was.  The malaria-ridden mosquitos, the bedbugs, the $10/night 8-dormers right on the beach, entering a third world country stupidly with no Visa (twice), a close kidnapping, the 12-seater vans that had 25 people with a garbage bag as a back window going 100+ km/hr down unsealed roads… I had so much fun, met the most interesting people and had an absolute dream trip.

When I returned, I went back to pre-Africa life at my casual job.  And although I knew I needed a real (career) job, I have never been a person to quit, so I pushed the boundaries at my job at The Arena and got myself suspended by SUSF’s Managing Director (I was by far the best employee there, for the record).  I followed it with a few part-time admin jobs, however, it was working as an Analyst for a Business Advisory on the Northern Beaches, where I grew up, that kicked things off for me.  It was this job that gave me my initial set of business knowledge, skills and love for business.  It was this boss who pointed out to me that I was a strategist and that if I don’t leverage it then it would be a waste of my brain.  I will never forget it.

I didn’t study business at USyd – my major was Mathematics.  And I loved it.  I loved forecasting different scenarios, finding opportunities, doing my SWOTs.  Excel was my happy place… still is.  So, the next logical step was my MBA.  By this stage I was 27 and not all that keen to spend the rest of my twenties working full-time and spending my spare hours studying.  I wanted to make sure business was something I wanted to pursue before sacrificing my social life.

So, I started a business as an experiment – Ark Swimwear – leveraging the (then) new marketing phenomenon that was Social Media and ‘Influencers’.  It broke even after 3 months.  Job done.  I was ready to give it up – the experiment worked so it was time to start applying for MBAs.  However, my boss saw that I had achieved something pretty rare and insisted that I pursue it, that he would hire me back if it didn’t work out.  His parting words – if you’re going to fail, fail fast.  Don’t waste your time.

In the same way that I travelled to Africa so unbelievably naïve, I decided to pursue Ark Swimwear which meant that I had no life for the first 3 to 4 years and was horribly broke for all that time.  I was left deserted in China for 3 days by my Chinese hosts in a manufacturing town (it’s almost impossible to get a taxi as a foreigner in those areas), I had to walk away from a $20k deposit because the bikinis didn’t cover the important bits and I had to eat chicken feet.  There’s good reason why 95% of start-ups fail.

Six years on and I wouldn’t take any of it back.  I love the business I’ve built, the people I’ve met, those who have helped me along the way and the community that we’ve all created.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have dreamt up a career in the fashion industry.  Those who know me know I live in denim shorts and white tees.  And Birkenstocks.  No matter the occasion or the weather.  But, I love this industry and the people and wouldn’t change a thing.

I don’t take for granted my time at John’s – the impact it’s made on my life and the legends I got to spend it with.  Every now and then I get to catch up with someone from my years there, whether it’s local or on my travels.  It’s the greatest hearing what everyone’s up to and everything they’ve achieved – whether it’s an Olympic Gold, a job, or becoming new parents.  I’m so proud to be a Johnsman, it’s pretty special to be a part of this community.